Furniture construction



M. B. LLOYD FURNITURE. CONSTRUCTION Filed June 20, 1919 IN V EN TOR.

BY M

4 r ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1925.

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARSHALL B. LLOYD, F MENO'M INEE, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 HEYWOOD-WAKEFIELD COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Application filed .Tune 20, 1919. Serial No. 305,539.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARSHALL B. LLOYD,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Menominee, Michigam have invent- 3 ed certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture Construction, of which the following is. a specification.

My invention relates generally to improvements in furniture construction but is to concerned primarily with furniture frame constructions of the type generally used for reed furniture.

In the production of reed furniture, which 'is much used for summer homes,

t5 verandas and other places where the furniture is moved about considerably, it is an object to make the frame as light as possible. This has led to the practice of making theprincipal frame members, of light wood of circular cross section. The seat frame has generally'been made of heavier wood and securedto the standards ofthefr'ame before described by means of doweling entering the members and being glued there- 26 in. The boring of-holes in the round frame members of a size sufficient to accommodate the dowels, considerably weakens the members and at the same time the dowel or tenon joints in use are likely to loosen and, under the, racking strains to which furniture is subjected, lose its initial rigidform while the other parts of the reed articles are still in good usable condition.

It has been necessary to make the round frame members considerably heavier and of stronger wood than would otherwise be necessary and much heavier than is desirable in an article of this kind.

The general object of my invention is to provide a furniture construction wherewith it shall be possibleto use relatively light round frame members and still retain the initial rigid form throughout the natural life of the article.

It is another object of my invention to provide a furniture construction which shall be particularly adapted to withstand the racking strains to which chairs and similar articles of furniture are subjected in use.

Again it is an object of my invention to provide a furniture construction which can be cheaply produced, and easily and quickly assembled evenv by unskilled workmen.

form, arrangement, construction, and coaction of the parts, whereby the above named objects, together with others that Wlll appear hereinafter, are attainable; and my invention will be more readily understood by reference tothe accompanying drawings, which illustrate what I consider to be the best embodiment thereof at the present time. ,7 I 1 In said drawings, Fig. 1, is a fragmentary side elevation of a chair frame embodying my 1nvention. Fig. 2, is a View substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, 1s a perspective View of one of the fastening devices used in joining parts of the frame together. By way of illustration, and not by way 0 limitation, I shall describe my invention in conjunction withtheframeof a chair, the lower part, only, thereof being considered. The chair in this instance comprises a seat frame composed of side members 1 and 2,

and front and rear members 3 and 4, respectively. The side members '1 and2, in order to sustain the load to which they are subjected in use are preferably made of considerable depth and of rectangular cross section. As here shown, the upper end portions are cutaway as indicated at '5, 6, 7 and 8, to accommodate the end portions of the front and rear members 3 and .41, so that the upper edge surfaces of the members 3 and 4 may be practically flush with the upper surfaces of the side members and be, thereby, adapted conveniently toreceive the seat (not shown) of usual or desired-construction.

The chair frame, in so far as we are concerned with respect to the present invention, is completed by the provision of the front standards or risers 9 and 10, and the rear standards or risers 11 and 12. Because of the novel constructionprovided, the standards or risers may, if desired, be made of light soft wood and of rounded form;(circular cross section) thereby enabling the much desired elimination of unnecessary weight. The rear standard members 11 and 12, are shown as being curved rearwardly in usual manner, and the front members 9 and 10 inclined slightly downwardly and outwardly inithe usual or desired manner. These risersor standards arepos'itioned at the respective ends of the side members 1 and 2, and preferably with the centers thereof on the line of the centers of the side members. As is well shown in Fig. 1, the inner surfaces thereof contact the lower end races of theside members and the outer vertical side faces of the ends of the front and rear members. All of the frame parts, are secured permanently, rigidly, and quickly together by means of aplurality of fastening devices, one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 3, from which it will be seen that it is composed of a portion 13, which is a piece of flat strap metal provided with a plurality of counter-sunk holes 14, adapted to receive the heads of wood screws. One end, 14, of the fastener is tapered and provided with screw threads of that form best adapted for entering wooden members.

As is well shown in Figs. 1 and- 2, I provide, in the present instance, eight fastening devices, one above and below the seat frame at each corner. The flat strap metal portions 18, thereof lie snugly against the, upper edge surfaces of the side frame membersand'of the end portions of the front and rear members, and as is well shown the screw threaded portions 14:, are screwed into the risers or standards 9, 10, 11 and 12. By this means thefastening devices are secured rigidly to the standards. By means of screws, 15, entering the lower fastening devices they'are secured to the side members below, and by means of the screws 16, pass- The screw, 17, passes through the opening in the upperfastening device, closest to the standard and! enters the end portions of the front member. Similar screws, 18, enter the end portions of the rear member. Obviously the. screws 17 and 18 prevent the front and rear members from moving transversely, and in fact all other movements of these parts are entirely restrained by the construction shown. In practice the fastening devises may be screwed into the standards before the seat frame members are put in place. The seat frame members may be then assembled and thereafter secured into a rigid, unyieldin frame, by means of the screws, 15, 16, 17 and 18, as before described.

Not only does the construction shown en'- able the use of relatively light frame members; eliminate the ordinary objectionable loosening and squeaking caused by the looseningofthe dowel joint between the seat frame and the standards after a period of use; but it also provides a structure which is far more rigid in every direction and abundantly able to withstand the mo t severe racking strainsv to which frames of this kind are subjected in use.

A. particular advantage that adheres in construction herein shown and described is that the screw fastening device, being inserted from the inside of the frame structure, leaves the outside smooth and also forms a hidden joint. The smooth outside surface is particularly desirable in reed furniture because it is not necessary to wrap or wind the frame member to hide the fastening devices and if for ornamental pur poses it be desired to wind the frame, the winding operation can be carried out with greater ease and by the use of: unskilled labor. 7

It will, of course, be understood that the frame members may be made of different materials and of different cross sectionalshapes, if so desired. The form here shown, however, is typical of a construction well adapted for use in the manufacture of reed furniture.

Inasmuch as this disclosure will suggest to others, modified structures whereby the substantial objects and purposes of my invention may be attained, I do not wish to be limited tothe specific construction and arrangement herein shown and described except only as may be necessary by limitations in the hereunto appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. A furniture structure embodying therein a frame composed ofside, front and rear members having mortised joints, fastening devices secured to the upper edge portions of the side,- front and rear members and spanning the mortised joints, said: fastening devices having tapering screw threaded ends and standards for supporting the frame, said standards receiving the screw threaded ends of the fastening devices.

2. A furniture structurev embodying there;

in a frame comprising longitudinal and transverse members, standards, and fasten ing devices havingpointed tapering threaded end portions screwed into the standards and integral flattened portions uniting the members of the frame and attaching the latter to said standards, said fastening devices constituting sole means of support for the frame by the standards.

3. A furniture structure embodying therein a frame comprising longitudinal and transverse members, standards, and fastening devices having tapering threaded end portions screwed into the standards and integral flattened portions uniting the members of the frame, said'fasteni-ng devices constituting sole means of support for the frame by the standards.

4. A furniture. structure embodying there in a frame composed of side, front and rear members having mortised joints, standards for supporting the frame and fastening/devices secured to the upper edgeiportion of the. front and rear members and spanning the mortised joints, said .fasteningfdevices having screw threaded ends which are of a length substantially equal to the diameter of the standards and are threaded into the material of said standards in the manner of v a Wood screw.

5. A. furniture structure embodying there in a frame comprising longitudinal and transverse members, standards, and fastening devices, each comprising an apertured flattened part at one end and a pointed tapering threaded part at the other end, the

last mentioned parts being threaded into the material of but not through the stand ards While the flattened parts unite the members of the frame and attach said frame to saidstandards, said fastening devices constituting sole means of support for the MARSHALL B. LLOYD. 

